BP buys “oil spill” ad words

If you search for news and information about the oil spill on the internet, your first result will be a link to BP’s website that the tagline describes as “how BP is helping.” That’s because the company has purchased “oil spill” ad words through Google and Yahoo. “Oil spill” has been among the top searches on Google, Twitter and Yahoo for several weeks.

Screen grab of Google search results

To add insult to injury, the better source of information is the website of the Unified Command, which includes BP and Transocean as well as the government agencies involved in cleanup.

On Friday, President Obama criticized BP for buying $50 million in television advertising, while continuing to push on a number of fronts to limit the amounts it will owe fishermen and taxpayers for its Biblical boo-boo in the Gulf.

Mother Jonesreports today on mounting evidence that BP and Transocean ignored warnings of problems on the Deepwater Horizon rig.